Labor of Love

What a week and what a finish!

Scott and my goal this week was to have everything painted by Thursday evening, so that when TJ got here on Friday, assembly could begin. My part was painting the boards which I had in the garage. Scott’s part was spray painting all the metal which he was doing in the shop. April and Lindsey both helped Scott paint.

It turned into quite the showdown to see who could finish first. I won only by default because the order of green paint Scott needed from Spokane was cancelled. The Napa store in Spokane would only deliver as far east as Missoula. No one knew that until the order did not show up on Thursday as planned. We had already bought everything that Denver and Billings had.

I could not understand why TJ chose to fly into Missoula when his destination was Sheridan. Thursday evening it became quite clear why we needed one member of the crew to be in Missoula instead of the Butte or Bozeman airport. Someone needed to get that paint to Sheridan.

Friday evening was spent spray painting the last of the metal. By looking at this picture taken Wednesday evening, you can see how much was left to paint green. What you see on this table was only the large pieces. All the smaller ones were yet to be added.

When TJ saw the reality of all those assorted pieces of metal sitting on that work table, he knew the true meaning of panic. There was no way they were going to pull this off before he had to be in Missoula Sunday evening to fly home.

Looking at that table of assorted metal pieces, Scott believed that in all likelihood there would be numerous pieces with no permanent part on the manure spreader. He was going to just attach them to the outside edge and call it good.

One of the crew members needed extra instruction

Gus was only able to spend a small amount of time with his sons answering their questions. Even though we had a fire going, he could not stay warm. Gus was there for the beginning and one time in the afternoon. He did not see the completed project until Sunday.

Scott and TJ spent 14 hours on Saturday doing the impossible . . . creating a restored manure spreader from sketchy pictures. By dinnertime, they were confident that they could finish by the end of the night. It was 11:00 Saturday night when that final piece was permanently attached. April and I helped throughout the day whenever an extra pair of hands was needed.



Gus never dreamed he would see his project completed. He really struggled with the emotions of the moment.



Scott has yet to do the tongue of the wagon and he needs to attach the seat. We had the seat painted, but the bar that attaches the seat to the wagon was the wrong one. Scott will design one.

I have to put the green lettering on the side that says New Idea. Both Scott and I have touch up to do on the paint. Then you will see a picture of the final look.

My cousin, John Brim, did the research on the original colors for the horse drawn New Idea Manure Spreader. This is the shade of the green Gus discovered deep in the gears. It is also the same shade of green that is on The Fenton House.

So what do you do when the project is complete and there are parts left over?

You point fingers at each other!!

This was definitely a memorable weekend for all of us, but especially for TJ and Scott. They will never look at this wagon without remembering the beauty of the day and the day they accomplished the impossible. This was a true Labor of Love!